Leitmotif
by dlamp
Summary: An AU story through the eyes of Carl Clover.


"… … … " Carl heard something in the distance, a voice of some kind. It was faint, but he could tell it was female. "… … U…" There it was again, but it still sounded far away, and slightly garbled too. It was as if the boy was in an ocean, just barely able to make out anything.

"Uh…" He moaned, now starting to feel a tugging at his arm. Whatever was calling him had a hold on him.

"Wa… … Wake up…" The tugging was much rougher now and the boy was starting to get his a small understanding of his surroundings. Still, whatever was moving him was now annoying.

"Uh…" He groaned a bit more distinctly, trying to make whatever had him leave. He gave a small wave of his arm, shaking off whatever had him. "Go away…" He mumbled.

"Hey Shorty! Wake up!"

"Wha- huh? Ah!" The boy suddenly found himself pushed off his bed, hitting the floor none too gently. He groaned, grimacing from the pain in his sides. _That hurt…_ He thought, staggering up to see who had pushed. Looking across his bed, he saw the familiar cat kigurumi and sighed. It was Taokaka, one of the oldest kids at the orphanage. Despite that fact, she was probably the most childish out of everyone here. As usual in the morning she had one her cat kigurumi with her blond hair down and not in its usual braids, her tannish skin and red eyes contrasting to her. She was a very cute girl in her late teens. Her personality, however, was a bit off-putting to most people, keeping most of the guys away from her.

"Miss Tao, what was that for." The boy asked, rubbing his eyes. The two of them shared a room together, so it was not surprise that she was the one who waked him. They were somewhat of a mismatched pair at times. The two have had their share fair of fights, both verbal and physical, and often butted heads at time, but they cared for each other in the end, almost like siblings. Almost.

"You're gonna' miss breakfast Shorty~ Boobie Lady's making some _really, reeeeaaaallly_ yummy today!" Tao said, practically drooling at the very thought. Another sigh escaped the boy. Waking him for breakfast was a kind gesture, but the way she did it could had been handled better. Plus, Miss Litchi always made good food. Then again, this _was_ Tao.

"Alright Miss Tao, I'll be down in a moment." He said, letting out a yawning afterwards. Tao gave a giddy smile and giggle before running out of the room. Now with some peace and quiet, he could get ready for the day. He started to do his morning routine: brushing his teeth, washing his face, and so forth. He then walked over to his calendar, noticing it was Saturday. Perfect, he could be a little lax today. Normally the boy very punctual and precise, but his caretakers had told him to take it easy from time to time, and today would be a good day to do it. If anything, he'd do it to make them stop worrying about him so much.

"Carl, come downstairs for breakfast." He heard Miss Litchi call.

"Coming ma'am," He called back, walking down the stairs. He decided to stay in his purple pajama pants and t-shirt since it was a weekend. He hadn't thought of what to wear yet anyway.

Downstairs waiting for him was Litchi, Tao, and few of other kids that were awake. Mr. Bang seemed to had left early for some reason. Whatever the reason, Carl didn't ask about. "So, what's for breakfast Miss Litchi?" He asked.

"I decided to try a more western style breakfast today, so we have sausage, bacon, pancakes, and an assortment of fruits." The doctor replied. Carl smiled at the thought alone. It had been awhile since they had any western food. Truth, the lived in California, but the orphanage was in area that was mostly Asian. At times Carl felt like the odd man out some days. However, it was little things like this that made him feel special.

"Thank you," He said, taking a seat at the table.

It took everyone about ten minutes to finish the meal. More specially, it took _Tao_ ten minutes to finish her fifth serving of her meal, while everyone else was finishing their first(and probably last since she ate almost everything). The rest of breakfast was spent chatting about their school week. Carl stayed relatively quiet though. He wasn't one to start a conversation or involve himself in one unless asked to.

"So, how was your week Carl?" He heard Miss Litchi ask. The boy was a bit surprised by the question. "You've been quiet for some time now." She must had realized he was starting to get lost in thought and wanted to bring him back to earth.

"I'm always like this Miss Litchi," He said curtly. "And my week went well, nothing too interesting happened. I had a few tests Friday, did a lab on Thursday, and-"

"Had three detentions for getting involved in fights again?" Miss Litchi finished, though it wasn't what he was about to say. Carl clear his throat, ignoring her interruption for now. He glanced around the room to see a few of the kids rolling their eyes, others looking away, trying not to get involved. A sigh escaped him. _Not this again._

"I didn't do anything wrong, I was just what was right." He answered calmly.

"Fighting is not the best way to fix a problem Carl."

"I never said I was fighting, I was defending myself and others."

"And I told you that violence isn't the only way to do that."

"And I've told _you_ that sometimes people listen to fists better than words."

At this point the two were starting to raise their voices, giving each other leery looks. The tension was getting high and Carl wasn't in the mood to fight with Miss Litchi this early in the morning. The boy shut his eyes and let out a calming breath. He would be the bigger person walk away. "Well, I'll just leave my dishes in the sink and get dressed then." He said, walking to the kitchen with his plate and glass.

"We'll continue this with Mr. Bang later Carl." Litchi said, obviously not pleased with how he left things. Carl fought back the urge to roll his eyes. Adults.

"Very well," He said coolly from behind, not bothering to turn around. Once he put his dishes away, he went back to his room to change. He donned a white polo t-shirt and blue jean shorts. He had a habit was wearing shorts even when the weather didn't permit it. Call it habit, but that was just his peference. Once dressed he put on his glasses and headed back downstairs. "I'm going to take walk for a little bit. I'll probably go to the library to check out some books as well." He said. He didn't hear Miss Litchi say anything against this, or anything at all. He sighed. Adults. "Well, I'll be going now." With that, he left the orphanage and made his way to the library.


End file.
